Metallic can



1942- J. COSTA METALLIC CAN Filed Sept. 5. 1959 (70% COJ/J INVENTQR ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1942 UNITED STATES E ATENT OFFICE METALLIC CAN John Costa, Hackensack, N. J.

Application September 5, 1939, Serial No. 293,514

1 Claim.

This invention relates to metallic cans of the hermetically sealed type new in general use for packing food products, and an important object thereof, is to provide a can that includes end walls or lids which are constructed in a manner to allow any number of the cans to be stacked one upon the other without damage thereto or danger of the cans toppling over, in that the end walls of my cans include portions disposed flush with the body clamping beads thereof, as distinguished from the walls of cans now in use that have the entire areas thereof within the beads countersunk, with the result the beads of the latter cans provide the only means of contact when such cans are stacked, thus making it difficult to stack the same and slight vibration will cause them to topple over.

A further object is to provide a can that includes end walls or lids, each being identical and having annular depressions therein to not only reinforce the walls so as to increase the rigidity and supporting strength thereof, but one of the depressions is disposed adjacent to the edge of its wall and shaped to act as a guide for the knife of an opener, as well as to facilitate the application and sealing of the wall to the body of the can.

Another object is to provide end walls for metallic cans of the character set forth, that are simple in construction, easy to seal, inexpensive to manufacture, and extremely efficient in use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through a can constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the ample bearing surfaces between the end walls of my cans when stacked.

Figure 3 is an end plan view of my can.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that I have illustrated my can as including the usual cylindrical body I and that the end walls or lids 2 are sealed to the upper and lower ends of the body by use of the usual peripheral beads 3, receiving the ends therein.

The major portion of the walls 2 are fiat and disposed flush with the exterior edges of the beads, and that feature is of extreme importance, in that the flush portions which are indicated by the reference numerals 4 and 5, provide ample bearing surfaces for adjacent cans, when the cans are stacked, as clearly shown in Figure 2, thus preventing the cans from toppling over, as will be obvious from that figure.

The walls 2 are identical and in order to reinforce the same, each have an inner annular depression 6 therein of rounded channel formation and the depression divides the central flush portion 4 from the outer flush portion 5. An outer peripherally disposed annular depression l is likewise provided in each wall for disposal concentrically with respect to the depressions E5, and the depression 1 likewise acts to reinforce the wall 2 so that the wall is extremely rigid and capable of supporting great weight, thus it will be obvious that any number of my cans can be stacked one upon the other without damage to the lowermost cans.

The depression I is provided with sides which are disposed in inclined diverging relation to each other and merge into the bead 3 and the outer edge of the outer flush portion 5, while the remaining portion of the depression I is curved and directed outwardly to provide an interior channel 8 that tends to act as a guide for the blade of an opener, of the usual fulcrumed lever type, as will be apparent.

The depressions 6 and 1 also make it possible to bring about nesting of the end walls or lids, before they are applied to the bodies of the cans and the depression 1 allows ample space for 'receiving the clamping and sealing tool of the can making machine when applying the walls to the bodies.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A metallic can comprising a cylindrical body, end walls having peripherally disposed beads receiving and sealed to the outer ends of the body, the major portions of the end walls being flush with the exterior edges of the beads, the flush portions being flat and providing bearing surfaces for adjacent cans when stacked one upon the other to prevent the cans from toppling over, said walls each having concentrically arranged annular depressions therein for reinforcing the same, the outer depression being relatively wide and having sides disposed in inclined diverging relation to each other and the outermost inclined side merging into the bead, the remaining portion of the outer depression being curved and directed outwardly to cooperate with the outermost inclined side to provide an interior channel to act as a guide for the blade of an opener, the inner depression being relatively narrow and disposed between the fiush portions and said inner depression being curved throughout its width in channel formation.

JOHN COSTA. 

